Canadian tar-sands imports are a backward step

The British government has been secretly supporting Canadian plans to “find a solution” around EU targets to combat climate change. Canada wish to export their tar-sands to America, Europe, or whoever the highest bidder is. All this in order to gain as much wealth as possible, regardless of the ecological cost. This, I would expect from a nation with a reputation for ruthless economics and rapid industrialisation, but Canada? Really? The only sticky deposit I expected them to be flogging was maple syrup.

Canada is undermining efforts of world summits to combat climate change. But why is Britain supporting Canada on this clearly misjudged attempt to target fuel shortages?

By association with these tar-sands Britain is also working against global efforts to save the planet. When George W. Bush bid adieu to the G8 summit with “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter” Gordon Brown, amongst other word leaders, looked on with horror while Bush punched the air grinning.

“Britain is willing to ‘think globally’ to a point, and that point ends in the Middle East”

So why is our government, which in the past scorned world leaders who failed to acknowledge the severity of our planet’s situation, now associated with fuels that will increase carbon emissions? Well, up until recently Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have been the main suppliers of oil to the western world and the chance to take British business back to the West is possibly a reason for these ‘secret’ negotiations. Britain is willing to ‘think globally’ to a point, and that point ends in the Middle East.

The EU legislation, in question, concerns cutting carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. The reason this poses a problem for Canadian oil-sands is that they are likely to work against this target as carbon emissions from Canada’s tar-sands emit 22 per cent more greenhouse gases than conventional fuels. The British government has been exposed through the Freedom of Information Act as having held meetings with Canada regarding the tar-sands and how to hinder EU legislation aims to cut carbon emissions, as this will make the Canadian fuel unsuitable for the green Europe the EU are striving for.

Directgov highlights the rising temperatures, sea levels and temperatures, increased extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and famines, spread of disease and the impact to animals and plants of climate change. How can the British government even entertain the idea of introducing an even dirtier fossil fuel whilst educating the public on the dangers of climate change?
This process is far from the cheap solution either, with the financial cost of excreting the oil being estimated at £47 billion over the next 10 years, meaning global governments’ and businesses would do better investing in renewable energy resources.

We need to power the earth for more than the next couple of generations and to do this investments need to go into finding sustainable sources. Renewable energy sources – not dirtier fossil fuels – are needed as the long-term solution to fuel shortages and Cameron needs to wake up and smell the manure on this one.